Opinions Of Others – Do they Matter?

Do the opinions of others dictate your life?

Should the opinions of others matter to us? Is seeking favor or approval from others something we could imagine living without? We all at some point in our lives worried about what others thought or said about us and in the process subject ourselves to worry, stress, anxiety and other physical ailments.

The essential message of this 13th verse of Tao Te Ching seems to be that it’s crucial to remain independent of both the positive and negative opinions of others. Regardless of whether they love or despise us, if we make their assessments more important that our own, we’ll be greatly afflicted. Seeking the favor of others isn’t the way of the Tao.
~Wayne Dyer from the book ‘Change your thoughts, Change your life’

What caught my attention to the above paragraph is the word independent. There were two definitions that I found for this word.

free from outside control; not depending on another’s authority.

not depending on another for livelihood or subsistence.

Opinions of others: What are you really seeking?

What are you looking for or expecting to hear when you ask someone for their opinion?

I remember when I wasn’t sure about myself or my confidence wasn’t at it’s par. I would ask others what they thought about _____ or what should I do about ______, and their response wasn’t what I expected.

I believe that asking others for their opinion in some weird shape or form is asking for comfort in our insecurities. So be careful who you’re asking because as the bible states…

“Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions”
~Proverbs 12:2

I have to say, each event is different. Yes, there will be times when the opinions of others are needed and will make a difference. But, it shouldn’t be something we should depend on. We have to trust our inner guidance and be connected to our higher self so that we can help others become independent and not dependent.

You need to find that balance of where you manage your expectations; where seeds are not planted in your mind that can cause you to question yourself and decrease the confidence and self esteem that you’re trying to build.

Practice Trusting Your Own Inner Nature
Every passionate thought that you have regarding how you want to conduct your life is evidence that you’re in harmony with your own unique nature-your fervent belief is all you need. Your worldly self isn’t your true identity, so trust your eternal self to communicate with you. It will do so through your inner nature, where you’ll honor it through an independent mind. Respect your vision and trust your natural, passionate thoughts that are aligned with the loving essence of the Tao. ~ Wayne Dyer

Opinions of Others – Your uniqueness is what makes you, YOU!

There is only one YOU. You are special. Your thoughts, your feelings, your spirit does matter. No one can take better care of you, but you!

Take time to practice trusting your own inner nature. Try living one day completely in harmony with your own true self, ignoring pressures to be anything else. Act on what you love! Put yourself as a priority in your life instead of others, because in the end we only have one life to live.

How much time we have, no one knows; so what do you do in the meantime? Do we live life loving ourselves, building and trusting our inner nature/guidance, or do we live life worried about the opinions of others?

The choice is up to you. Therefore, follow your heart and not the opinions of others. Trust and believe in yourself, in your abilities and know that you can do this!!! Have faith in yourself!

With Love, Appreciation and Blessings!!

Julia Colon

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Wonderful post Julia 🙂 Thank you for sharing Donna, your Dad sounds Awesome! Julia, I love how you point out that typically when we ask a question, we already know what answer we want to hear! LOL I cannot tell you how many times someone has asked me a question and I asked them, “are you sure you want to hear the answer” because I knew what answer they expected and it wasn’t going to match up LOL Expectations are a bitch! LOL They will get you everytime!

Wonderful post Julia! Thank you!
Love that bible verse reference. So true. Most people are so busy flapping their gums that they never hear anything you say anyway, so why worry about it?!

One of the most important realizations I had when I was a teenager was that people are so focused on themselves and worried about what everyone else thinks, that they don’t really ever see what you’re doing anyway.
And if they do see and say something about it, it’s only because they are insecure and trying to turn attention away from themselves. Which is ironically unnecessary in the first place!!

Something else I’ve experienced over the years… When you act like you don’t care what people think, they are intrigued, typically will be more attracted to, and want to BE LIKE you!!

Hi Samantha! I agree with everything you said. That’s why I’m happy to be a part of this group where we are helping others grow personally. To have faith in themselves and much…more. My realization is that once I was growing personally I started to be surrounded by like minded people who actually do care. Where their opinion wasn’t imposed on me but advice and well wishes. Thank you for the opportunity to write this post and I look forward to reading and hearing everyones opinion and how they have been affected by this touchy subject.

Donna Allen

Love that, flapping their gums lol. Yes that bible verse was confirmation to the soul!

Donna Allen

When reading this verse. I’m reminded of my earthly Dad. He would say to me often your so Independent apart from the other siblings. One day I asked him Dad. Why do you always say to people I am peculiar?

His reply to me. “That will be you’re protector when I’m not around you”. That helped me to always hunger for the inside me to never go away and be silent! As I grew into adult years. I am independent, I am mystical, I am not what you think I should be. I hunger daily for the balance of Love & Light my inner Sense!

Hi Donna! That is great advice your father gave you. I’m glad that you took his advice and used it for yourself as a young child and adult. I think you’re fantastic and so happy to have met you. I like the confidence you have and how you described yourself.

Donna Allen

Julia, I appreciate that and so nice to have met you! Thanks to this small group many will be inspired in the future.

Mindset Mastery Collective was founded in January 2013. Our goal is to help shift humanity from a negative powerless mindset to a positive empowering one, awaken people to their full potential mentally, spiritually, relationally, & emotionally and provide a community for you to connect with people who are like minded to exchange ideas, discover insights, learn, and grow together.